Apple's Asian suppliers sink as pricey new iPhone underwhelms

[HONG KONG] Shares of Apple's suppliers across Greater China greeted the company's latest product line-up, including its most-expensive ever iPhone, with losses.

While there were a few exceptions, the lack of any major surprises in Tim Cook's much-anticipated unveiling weighed on stocks from Taiwan's Pegatron, an iPhone assembler, to South Korean screen-maker LG Display.

Hong Kong-listed Cowell e Holdings - a maker of iPhone cameras that derives about 81 per cent of its revenue from Apple, according to data compiled by Bloomberg - tumbled as much as 6.6 per cent, while Taiwan's Catcher Technology slid the most since November.

Catcher makes metal cases used in laptops and smartphones, and the new iPhones have glass cases, said Allan Lin at Concord Securities.

Quanta Computer, assembler of the Apple Watch, got a boost though, along with Hong Kong's AAC Technologies Holdings, which Jefferies Group noted should benefit from an upgrade to iPhone sound functions and the removal of the home button.

BLOOMBERG